Today is your day Boomer! I saw this poster in a high school P.E. office yesterday and thought....if this is good for kids, it surely fits the bill for Boomers! Look at all the benefits of walking, especially outside. Things beyond the obvious "cardio" health benefits....with more emphasis on the "mental" side of things. Simply put, a walk makes you feel better. This comes with a disturbing reminder from Statistics Canada: "In the most recent Stats Can survey on exercise for older Canadians, 42% of respondents reported walking outside less than three days a week. Yet research suggests that walking outdoors, especially in nature, provides physical and emotional benefits. The reverse is also true: limited outdoor walking is an indicator of frailty and a risk factor for social isolation, decline in mobility, and reduced health-related quality of life." Okay, only 42%. This means we can do better, especially during this very-warm winter this year. It is perfect for DAILY outside walking! Feel better, live longer Boomers! Cheers.
Today is your day Boomer! Baby Boomers, another health benefit is back! It is backward walking and the trend-often associated with the 1980s-is making a return as grey-haired wonders, like you and I, look for new-or-newish ideas to help keep us fit! According to cbc.ca, "walking backwards has shown that there's less impact on the joints by using these different muscles — and it can increase flexibility and even help alleviate back pain." One 62-year-old Boomer says "Every time I walk, I just do a little twirl and walk backwards for a bit, and I'll do it just a few times during my walk." It may look a little unusual and may get a few laughs from passersby....by consider the actual benefits. Clinical exercise specialist André Noël Potvin says "When you start to walk backwards, you actually start to rebalance the forces around the ankle, knee, hip and lower back." This really helps Boomers recovering from knee surgery and older Boomers who are havi...

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